Holiday Spirit
by BaronessBlixen
Summary: This is a sequel to Kristen3's "Jolly Holiday". Niles and Daphne take the kids trick-or-treating. One-shot.


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**A/N:** This is a sequel to Kristen3's "Jolly Holiday". I meant to write something completely different. I hope you all like it anyway.

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Despite his earlier reservations, Niles found himself looking forward to going trick-or treating. Alice was really cute in her blue Cinderella dress. She looked like a true princess and she beamed when Niles told her so. As did Roz, who was obviously proud of her offspring. She was the only person not in costume and grinned at Niles, who looked rather ridiculous as Bert, the chimney sweep from Mary Poppins.

"Mary Poppins! Mommy, look!" Alice had been excited and kept jumping around Niles, pointing at him. Daphne was still upstairs with David, who was forced to wear a penguin costume. Niles' only consolation was that he was too young to know what was going on. There would of course be plenty of pictures to remind and embarrass him when he was older. Niles would have never agreed to any of this if Daphne hadn't been so excited. He was prepared to do just about anything for her. Including wearing this hideous costume.

"I'll pick her up sometime tomorrow if that's ok." Roz told Niles. Alice was always happy to stay with Daphne and Niles and she adored David.

"Sure, that's fine. We love having her around." It was the truth. Both Niles and Daphne loved Alice. She was a wonderful child. Sometimes Niles wondered how Roz had raised such a well-behaved, perfect little girl. Then again, Roz was a good person. She just had an awful taste in men and was unable to commit to a long-lasting relationship.

"Have fun, sweetie. Behave yourself." Alice nodded solemnly and curtsied which made Roz and Niles laugh.

After Roz had left, Niles and Alice waited impatiently for Daphne and David to join them. They took an awful long time to get ready. Daphne had put David down for his nap later than usual just so he was awake for the big trick-or-treating she had planned. Niles knew that it didn't matter whether he was awake or asleep, because he didn't understand the whole concept anyway, but it was important to her. So he played along. He hadn't even seen his son in his costume yet. If he was honest, he was a little excited to see him in it. He was always cute no matter what he wore. He got that from his mother even if she always told him he had his daddy's charm.

"Here we come!" Daphne yelled from above the stairs. Alice and Niles turned to look at them. Niles' eyes were glued to his wife's dress. He had seen it before, but he hadn't exactly seen her wear it before. The dress swished with every step she took and her smile was radiant. Niles felt like the happiest guy in the world, even if he was wearing a chimney-sweep uniform. This was his woman, his angel. And she held the greatest treasure in the world: their son. Niles could no longer deny that Daphne had done the right thing. David was precious in his penguin costume. He didn't even seem to mind wearing it. He babbled happily and constantly tried to grab the penguin's beak above his head that hung a little low.

"You're so beautiful!" Alice sighed and carefully touched Daphne's dress. Daphne handed David over to Niles. Father and son looked at each other as if they weren't sure they recognized each other in their costumes.

"You look beautiful, too, Alice." Daphne told the little girl and she grinned up at her.

"I agree with Alice, by the way." Niles whispered into Daphne's ear. It made her shiver all over. She knew he'd like the costume. He looked handsome, too as a chimney sweep. The soot on his face let his blue eyes sparkle even brighter. He looked incredibly handsome and manly.

"If you behave yourself today, you might get some candy yourself."

"Ohhh, I can definitely behave myself." Niles promised and smiled. He kissed her nose and together with the kids they went trick-or-treating.

David was a sensation. People stopped to awe and stare at him. Niles and Daphne were so proud of their little boy. Alice enjoyed the attention as well, because it meant more candy for her.

"We should take a picture." Niles exclaimed after they'd been out a while. Alice's dress was already dirty from sharing some chocolate with David, who had not yet developed a sense of hygiene.

"That's a great idea." Daphne gathered the children together and asked a strange woman to take their picture.

"I love you." Niles told her silently right before the picture was taken.

"You're enjoying yourself after all, aren't you?" She asked with a smile. She took the camera and took some more pictures of David and Alice. Martin and Ronée needed to see David in his first Halloween costume, too, after all.

"I must admit that I am. But I can't wait to get out of this costume." It itched and Niles had celebratory plans for him and Daphne that didn't include clothes.

"I think maybe we can go back home. Alice has so much candy, she'll never be able to eat it all!" David seemed to be falling asleep in his stroller. It had been a long day for him and he was still just a baby after all.

"Alice, let's go."

"Already?" She was sad and pouted. Daphne had an idea.

"How about we go home and watch 'Mary Poppins'?" Alice's face lit up. She no longer minded going back.

As soon as they arrived home, Niles took David upstairs to put him down. The baby had fallen asleep in his stroller. He took the baby monitor with him and changed into something more comfortable. Washing away the soot felt great and Niles finally felt like himself again. Downstairs he found a candy-eating Alice still in her Cinderella dress and an exhausted Daphne.

"Go change." Niles gently nudged her. If she fell asleep, he at least wanted her to wear something comfortable. She smiled tiredly at him and went upstairs. The only person who didn't look tired was Alice. Niles stole a piece of chocolate from her, hoping that the sugar would wake him up, too.

"You said we'd watch 'Mary Poppins'."

"We will as soon as Daphne is back, alright?" Alice nodded. Looking at the girl, he wondered what it would be like if Daphne and he had another child. Maybe even a girl. David was in many ways already a miracle, with Niles' slow sperm, but there could be another one if they were willing to try.

Daphne returned wearing sweats. Again, Niles was taken aback by his wife's beauty. She could wear rags for all he cared. She would always be the most beautiful woman in the world to him.

"Mary Poppins!" Alice demanded. Daphne chuckled and put the movie in. She snuggled close to Niles and together they watched it. Niles had only seen the movie once before. It really wasn't his kind of movie. At some point, Alice fell asleep. Apparently, she had been tired after all. Niles entangled himself from Daphne, who didn't want to let him go.

"I'm just going to put Alice to bed." He told her in a soft voice. Daphne nodded and let him go. Niles wasn't sure if she was awake or asleep as well. He picked up Alice who was considerably heavier than David. He knew he should take off her dress so that she could sleep more comfortably, but he was too scared to wake her up again. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. On his way downstairs, he checked on David, who was sleeping peacefully. He stayed a moment longer to watch his beautiful son. Next year he would probably want to go trick-or-treating and maybe even understand some of it already. One day he would most likely decide that dressing up for Halloween was stupid. They simply grew up too fast. Niles let his son sleep and went downstairs. The movie was still on, but Niles had long lost interest. He kneeled before Daphne. Her eyes were closed and she breathed deeply. He couldn't help but smile. Just as he was about to get up again, her arm reached out and held him there.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"No, just resting my eyes."

"You look tired, my love."

"I'm not too tired." Daphne smiled suggestively. Niles quickly turned off the movie and held out his hand to help her up.

"Well, that's just supercalifragilisticexpialid ocious." Daphne laughed.

"What did you just say?"

"I was just quoting that movie you love so much." Niles told her. She touched his cheek and stroked it. Today had once again shown her how much Niles loved her. Not every man would have dressed up as a character he didn't care for. She was one of the happiest women in the world.

"Let's go. I want to celebrate some more with you. Alone."

Niles didn't have to be told twice.

**END**


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